After a dry spell

I'm shocking myself by actually having something to share in the art arena.  Several weeks ago I went to an open studio at Torbay Bight Studio to work in encaustic.  I love the regulars who go to these events because they are friendly, funny and always up to something interesting.  I am still in my white stage (What if) which I  wrote about  last year.  I'll be in it for quite awhile if I don't get back to creating!

My What if series explores how ideas can be represented when colour and contrast are  removed  from the equation.  These new works are abstracted landscapes that rely mostly on texture to make their presence know.  The silvery sheen was created by rubbing  pearl pigment stick over the encaustic.  It shimmers like a pristine landscape in the winter sun.

 Landscape 1 (2014) mixed media encaustic , 6 x 6 in.

 Landscape 2 (2014) mixed media encaustic , 6 x 6 in.

 I see so many references to my summer life by the edge of the Atlantic ocean in a small fishing community in Newfoundland.  I never planned these at all.  They were spontaneous responses to a pile of materials I had with me.
 One of these days I will figure out how to actually photograph encaustic work.  These are looking so pinkish and they are actually white.

Echoes of Venice Series

Venice lives fresh in my memory since 2005 and its patterns and textures keep reappearing in my art work in the series Echoes of Venice. This series has been around since 2006 and I keep adding  adding small pieces to it.  I am even more focused on it this year because I return to Venice this June.  I anticipate a fresh batch of work.

 The old section of Venice is a treasure trove of patterns and textures.  Walking the narrow streets brings you in close proximity to walls and windows and you can't help notice what is around you.   Everything is within reach of your fingertips. Churches, galleries, shops and other historical attractions reek of gold and beautiful patterns.  Masks, hand made books, gowns, ornaments, fabrics - how can you not want to build all that lusciousness into your work. 

 Here's a peek  at two different  sets of work that keep getting added to. 

Two of  six which will be mounted side by side and framed as one.  Each piece is 4.5 x 6 inches.  I feel more of these in the offing.  

Then there's the newer work that is very neutral and light with a strong focus on pattern and texture.  Each piece is 6 x 8 and when complete they will be hung in grids of 9 (at least that's what I think now).  It seems I can only get the look I want in encaustic.

 This one is incomplete because the great divide needs to be filled but nothing is speaking right now. 

It's about texture

Untitled, 6 x 6 in. encaustic, paper, pigment stick

I' m beginning to get a glimmer of what interests me most about using encaustic as a medium. It is absolutely wonderful for creating texture; being totally tactile this is an important characteristic for me. If you look back through my posts over the last several weeks you will get a sense of the interesting effects that can be created by utilizing different papers or fabrics as a base for texture.

By experimentation and not being tied down to the production of a final product, each of these sample boards have extended my understanding of the encaustic medium and how it relates to paper. I am thankful to my friend and fellow encaustic explorer Carol for giving me the paper I used in the work above. So it's all about process right now, but where will it lead me in terms of content? What do I want to say that is important? That's emerging to...

To take the pressure of me let's look at another artist.

There are always artists with similar interests and aesthetics but each one communicates "an expression in a voice most have not heard" says Robin Luciano Beaty. Her small abstracts speak to me of landscape- not the landscape of specific reproductions of space- but of the glimpses, sudden insights and impressions one gleans by observing the movement of nature.

Above and Beyond Series at Three Graces Gallery

Remains to be seen

New work

Untitled (6 x 6 in.) encaustic, paper, pigment stick

Continuing with my explorations in encaustic with red....

One of the fantastic qualities of encaustic is its softness which enables you to incise lines using various tools (stylus, pottery or sculpture tools, nails, skewers etc).

Once made, the lines can be highlighted by using a different colour of encaustic paint or by rubbing oil/pigment stick or oil pastel into the grooves . Residue left on the surface of he work can be cleaned by continuous rubbing with a soft cloth. An added advantage of using pastel or oil stick is that it also catches up in any imperfections in the surface and gives a more textured look. This is one of the ways you can move colour around subtly in a composition.

We Are Neighbours (2009) 9 x 10 in. encaustic, paper, pigment stick

You can also brush powdered graphite etc, into the groves, wipe off remaining powder on the surface with vegetable oil ,and seal with a thin layer of clear encaustic medium.

Up close

Everyone has their own interests when taking photographs. I've never questioned what I am inspired to photograph or why I may be interested in a subject. I just shoot merrily and file images on the computer trusting that all will be revealed at a later date. Last night I was sorting shots from my last two trips. I wonder where these are leading me.






I see many similarities with a recent painting in the Reading a Garden exhibition called Web. I was hoping I would move away from obsessive detail. Hard to say but my attraction to these three images is immense.